I haven't been brewing too long and had a quick question regarding yeast starters and over pitching. I just pitched my first 2000ml starter of Wyeast1056 into a porter with a 1.058 OG. I occasionally shook the starter throughout the days leading up to brew day, and chilled and decanted before pitching into a very oxygenated wort. 36 hours later, i have some violent fermentation going with some serious blow off. Is it possible I over pitched, or am I experiencing my first healthy fermentation?
Over pitching yeast
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rajun50
Well-Known Member
According to MrMalty, you overpitched a bit, but I wouldn't say it was overly so. It sounds like you have a healthy fermentation going IMO. RDWHAHB
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
Yeah, it's pretty hard to overpitch on the homebrew scale to the point where it's a detriment to the beer. What is your fermentation temp though?
flars
Well-Known Member
You may have over pitched or even under pitched, how many yeast cells you pitched depends on the production date of the yeast, not just the size of the starter.
A very vigorous fermentation can also be caused by fermenting the wort to warm.
What was the production date of the yeast and what is the temperature of the wort?
A very vigorous fermentation can also be caused by fermenting the wort to warm.
What was the production date of the yeast and what is the temperature of the wort?
Roadie
Well-Known Member
Vigorous fermentation doesn't necessarily mean you over pitched. I'm sure things will be great.
flars
Well-Known Member
I put some numbers in the Brewers Friend calculator. Entered the yeast as one month old. Your pitch rate just made it.
Your fermentor may lack good head space, therefore heavy blow off, or the wort temperature may be to warm for the yeast.
In spite of what the brewing calculators say, it is very hard to overpitch on a homebrew scale. A 2L starter in a 1.058 beer should be good. I've had many experienced commercial brewers tell me worrying about over-pitching is a fool's errand in homebrewing as you would have to really be intentional about doing so to do so, unless you are trying to coax an ester character that requires you stress your yeast a bit by underpitching.
Say yes! to vigorous fermentation ... your pitch temp might have been a bit high or you might not have had much head space (as others have said).
Say yes! to vigorous fermentation ... your pitch temp might have been a bit high or you might not have had much head space (as others have said).
Any beer I'd be using 1056 in I wouldn't be worried about overpitching unless I'm pitching directly onto a yeast cake or something.
With other beers, namely Weizens and Belgian beers (and to a much more limited extent English beers), I'm much more wary of my pitching rate, because with something particularly yeast forward, overpitching can have a noticeable impact. I usually target slightly less than Mr. Malty recommends in that case.
But any clean ale, hybrid, or lager, typically more is better within reason.
With other beers, namely Weizens and Belgian beers (and to a much more limited extent English beers), I'm much more wary of my pitching rate, because with something particularly yeast forward, overpitching can have a noticeable impact. I usually target slightly less than Mr. Malty recommends in that case.
But any clean ale, hybrid, or lager, typically more is better within reason.
The production date was 8/7/14. I pitched at 68 on 9/27, and have been holding fermentation at 64 in a swamp cooler.
flars
Well-Known Member
Even though the yeast is a little older than the date I used, you still have a good pitch rate.
I would let the wort rise to 66° to 67°. Below 65° WY 1056 can throw a peach flavor which can be noticed in some beers. I haven't noticed it in my American amber ales, but did notice it in a dry Irish stout.
While this is technically correct, I would caution against chasing unicorns throughout the homebrewing process. Beer-making has a pretty fair degree of tolerance (mash temps/times, boil times, gravity readings, volumes, fermentation temps/times, pitch rates, etc) and given the homebrewer's ability to truly measure and control these things trying to zero in on levels of precision that are subject to other variables can cause a lot of undue stress.
If you are OCD and you find this sort of thing therapeutic, by all means go for it. Otherwise, becoming a slave to it can zap some of the joy out of the process.
Yes, fermentation temperatures are important ... but 2-3 degrees difference can be nothing more than rounding error, instrument error, or the variation of the thermo activity among the yeast themselves (anywhere between 4-10 degrees in a 5-gallon batch depending on how vigorous the yeast are).
You have done a 2-liter starter (pretty standard rule of thumb for 5-gallon ales, 4-liter being the rule of thumb for 5-gallon lagers), pitched at a good temp into a mid-gravity wort, and are holding at a good temp. Given this care and understanding at your early stage, I assume you have taken care with sanitation (another thing that can get over-hyped ... yes, important, but not to the degree of hazmat suits ... I even know one guy that who takes a shower and rinses with Purell before he pitches his yeast), so now it is time to "relax, don't worry ... have a homebrew!"
Yes, yeast health is important ... but they are hardy little buggers. I froze a batch of beer I was lagering last winter (the fridge was in my garage and outside temps dropped a lot and suddenly). I drug the carboy into the house and let it thaw out and got my fridge into the basement so it wouldn't freeze again and those yeast restarted, and I even won a medal with the beer (a Helles Bock).
I guarantee you one thing ... in the end, you will have beer. And I will wager, a pretty tasty beer.
That's pretty funny. I'm going to keep the temp as is, wouldn't want to stress the little buggers out. I guess I'll just chalk this up to a successful first starter
